This invention relates to roll forming machines and, more particularly, to roll forming machines of the type which can accept sheet metal supply coils of differing widths.
Roll forming machines for producing indeterminate length (i.e., seamless) metal panels, such as rain gutters, roof panels, siding panels, etc., are generally well known. In such a machine, the panels are formed from a supply coil of sheet metal of uniform width having a pair of parallel side edges. As the sheet metal is driven through the machine along a predetermined path of travel through a series of roll forming stations, its lateral profile is gradually transformed from a flat sheet into a panel having a desired lateral profile.
At the entry end of the roll forming machine, the leading edge of the supply coil of sheet metal passes through an entry guide which accurately positions the material laterally of its line of travel so that it is properly aligned for the following series of roll forming stations. Typically, the entry guide includes a pair of laterally spaced stop members which flank the material as it enters the machine. It is not uncommon that the same roll forming machine is used to form more than one size of product, in which case the roll forming machine must accommodate differing widths of sheet metal. When this is the case, the roll forming stations have to be changed and/or moved to accommodate the different sizes. Of course, at the entry guide the stop members have to be moved as well. In the past, the stop members have been collars or blocks slidable on a shaft between limit stops. When the stop members have to be moved, set screws on the collars or blocks are loosened, the collars or blocks are moved to the appropriate limit stops, and the set screws are tightened. Invariably, over time the set screws become stripped, are lost, etc., which causes a big problem. It would therefore be desirable to have an entry guide for a roll forming machine which can accommodate differing widths of sheet metal and which does not suffer from the aforementioned disadvantages.